The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

(Thanks to the monthly tickets of the three book friends, Kite in the Country, Bookworm, and Geshi Xiaobai.)

"The so-called New Deal can be summed up in four words: to reform the old and reform the new; to get rid of the old evils is similar to changing a person's long-standing habits. It will change the old system that officials have long been accustomed to, so the implementation of the New Deal seems to be difficult for one person to change the old habits; are there some similarities?"

Yan Biyun nodded and said, "My husband makes some sense in saying that."

Su Jin continued: "Maybe we can force it to change personal habits, because it affects only individuals or a limited range of people, and the New Deal affects the whole world by force. That's not a joke, it will kill people. Master Fan Master Han and the others just didn't realize the seriousness of the problem, so they failed, which is really a pity."

Yan Biyun said: "The reason why my husband is not willing to participate is because he understands the inappropriate method?"

Su Jindao: "Yes, in today's Great Song Dynasty, it is obviously unrealistic to do it overnight. They are just too impatient. Whether the New Deal should be implemented or not, the answer is naturally yes. Today's Great Song Dynasty has so many disadvantages. It cannot deter the enemy from outside. Can't be diligent and united. It looks glamorous, but it is actually just an empty frame. The moths will rot the beams and columns supporting this empty frame. Until one day, when a storm hits, the building will collapse. Turned into a pile of rubble; Han Fan and others thought they would replace the beams and columns infested with moths at once, but they didn't know that if they replaced them too fast and too violently, it would make the building crumbling instead, which would naturally cause the emperor to panic. No wonder it failed."

Yan Biyun said softly: "The metaphor of the husband is very vivid, and it is indeed the truth. What does the husband mean to change slowly?"

Su Jin shook his head and said, "It won't work. If one side is changed, the other side will be rotten again. When will we make up for it?"

"Then what should I do?"

Su Jin smiled and said: "The building will fall, not because of the rafters and tiles on the roof, nor because of the pillars, but because of the foundation and walls. What’s the point of losing a few tiles? It can still stand in the wind and rain, and it can be repaired after the wind and rain; if the foundation is not strong and the walls are not solid, after the wind and rain, there are all broken wood and ruins, so you can repair it if you want No."

Yan Biyun blinked his bright eyes and said, "Does the foundation and walls mentioned by my husband refer to the common people?"

Su Jin smiled and said: "Madam is smart, the foundation I am talking about refers to the common people at the bottom. The prosperity of a country does not depend on how magnificent the palace is, how majestic the ceremonial guards are, how well-dressed the officials are, and how luxurious the banquets are. It depends on what the people are eating! What are they wearing! Is there a smile on their face, is there any worry in their hearts? To put it simply, it is the four words "live and work in peace" that everyone hopes for. Everyone is talking about living and working in peace and contentment. , but these four words are really too difficult. If you can truly achieve these four words, you will be considered to have completely conquered the hearts of the people. Whether it can withstand the test of wind and rain, with the support of the people, nothing is difficult."

Yan Biyun said: "I can understand what my husband said, but isn't Master Han and Master Fan's new policy also intended to get rid of the disadvantages and win people's hearts?"

Su Jin said: "As I said, the method is wrong. There are many resistances from top to bottom. You can only die in the womb like a fetus that is not yet full. We start with little by little, affecting the way of life and thinking of the people, and when a positive way of life is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, there will be drastic changes from bottom to top, and the so-called New Deal has also been completed inadvertently.”

All the wives and concubines seemed to be in the fog, completely unable to understand what Su Jin was talking about.

"This is the reason why I abandoned the reconstruction of the existing city and built the Mingzhu City. The Mingzhu City is a night pearl that I want to illuminate the direction of the people. This new city is not yet under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, so I I can carry out my bottom-up transformation in this city as much as I want. I want them to understand that there is such a way of life in the world, not only wide streets, bright night lights, convenient transportation, It will also be a life attitude of working hard and enjoying leisure." Su Jin's eyes lit up, and he said loudly: "In this city, merchants are no longer inferior, and officials may not be admired by thousands of people. The owners of this city, they can express their opinions and gain the respect of the government; the future of this city is closely related to them, they are no longer indifferent city residents, they are the masters of Pearl City, in a word, Pearl City is a A new city built for the common people, the residents who live here will find that the previous days have been wasted."

"Husband, what kind of life are you talking about? This is like a peach blossom garden. My family yearns for it, and I can't wait to see it." Yan Biyun's eyes lit up, longing for the peach blossom garden that Su Jin depicted. .

Su Jin said: "Don't worry, these are all in my mind, I will realize him step by step, the premise is that the business of Mingzhu City will develop quickly, I need money, a lot of money to complete my vision, there is no money , I can't do anything."

Yan Biyun said: "Husband, don't worry, it's not enough to eat a fat man with one bite. The Pearl City has begun to take shape. The people relocated from other state capitals have settled down, and the shops opened by merchants from all over the place have been opened one after another. These people happen to be You can go to these shops to work, and more and more tourists from other places come to visit every day, and it will get better every day."

Su Jin smiled and said: "As expected, I'm not in a hurry, just like Sui'er and the others who have been with me for a few years before getting used to eating at the same table with me, yyng, these things are not in a hurry at all."

Yan Biyun said with a smile: "My husband has such ambitions, and my family is very happy, so let's say that the emperor will make a fool of himself, and don't get into trouble with him; otherwise, it will be a trivial matter to lose his official position, and these wonderful future scenes will come true. .”

Su Jin nodded and said: "I understand, in the final analysis, everything I do is beneficial to him. If the emperor is really a wise king, he will naturally understand the reason. If I don't quarrel with him, he shouldn't find fault with me. If it is so incompatible One day, I will not sit still; from now on, I will be careful and pay attention everywhere, I don't want to be dismissed suddenly one day and become a ridiculous victim."

Yan Biyun and the others were silent. Su Jin's words were even more treasonous and outrageous. They completely violated the values ​​of these years. If you say something like this, it is obvious that you are going to be a disloyal person.

But the wives and concubines were not too surprised. Su Jin has always been like this. He has never seriously expressed his loyalty to the emperor. In his words, when he talked about the emperor, his tone was not too surprised. In his heart, maybe the emperor is just an ordinary person , the ordinary can no longer be ordinary. [

……

Early the next morning, when Su Jinsheng was discussing matters, the first thing he did was to dispose of Gao Ruona. Of course, the so-called disposition did not mean publicly turning against him or slapping him with a stick. Jointly in charge of military affairs, it depends on the owner to beat the dog, and the owner is not easy to mess with.

But Su Jin has a lot of ways, aren't you in charge of military affairs?Su Jin followed his plan, took out the sand table, pointed to several locations on the border from Weizhou to the north of Qingzhou, and ordered Gao Ruona to immediately lead people to build a city wall and strengthen border defense.

Of course Gao Ruona knew that it was Su Jin who was trying to punish him for his own interests. Although he knew that the construction of the city walls in those places was like taking off his pants and farting, but the Shangguan's order was high-sounding, and he dared not disrespect it. Su Jin rejected his justifiable defense , cursed in his heart to take orders.

But what is even more exasperating is that when he reached out to ask for money and supplies, Su Jin didn't give him a penny, and asked him to complete the construction of the city within a time limit. Said: "My lord, this is making things difficult for me, I will immediately write a memorial and submit it to the emperor, and ask the emperor to comment."

Su Jin sneered and said: "My lord, I just want to show you a good look. What can you do? Please ask the emperor to comment, please ask the emperor, did the emperor allocate me a penny during the construction of the eight major cities in the north of Weizhou? Weizhou The rebuilding of thousands of houses and the restoration of the city walls took three to four months. Did the emperor give me a penny? If the emperor said yes, you can come to me to ask for it. If the emperor said no, I can do it for you Why can't it be done?"

Gao Ruona said loudly: "At one time and another, you have the money to build this city, but you have the money to build the city wall. You are justified."

Ma Han couldn't help cursing at the side: "The money belongs to my lord. It's none of your business to spend it as you like. It's a joke. Master Su is willing to waste his money for fun. You are so talkative. It's really meddling and eating fart."

"That's right, my lord has money. You don't like it when you build a city today and play with it tomorrow? Do you mean that my lord's money will be used by you? Why doesn't your wife take it out for my lord to enjoy?" ?” Zhang Long interjected not to be outdone.

"You...you are guilty of the above, how can you dogs talk here?" Gao Ruona scolded angrily.

Su Jin was furious, slapped the table and said: "Gao Ruona, you are blind. These brothers are brothers who have followed me through life and death. They are better than siblings. I dare not say that to them. Today My son, you dare to come and make noise; I, as the appeasement envoy of the Northwest Fourth Route Economic Strategy, am your superior official, and you have given you military orders in the hall, but you have repeatedly refused to do so. Are you looking at me, Su Jin, or military orders? Don’t say it’s going to the emperor, I’m not afraid of going to the emperor, I’m not afraid, come and punish the forty army sticks, escort them out of the city immediately, if you can’t do the military orders I’ve given within the time limit, you’ll have to follow the military law.”

Gao Ruona was shocked. Before he could speak, he was dragged to the ground by the wolf-like horse guards. He scolded Su Jin for acting for his own sake, and wanted to inform the emperor about it.

Su Jin didn't bother to pay attention to him, and retreated.